After a collision on the opening lap, Lewis fought his way back through the field to claim P2. Valtteri came home P4 in the British Grand Prix after fighting for the win for much of the race.
Sebastian Vettel (171 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by eight points from Lewis (163 points) with Valtteri (104 points) in P5. Ferrari (287 points) lead the Constructors' Championship by 20 points from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (267 points).
Toto Wolff: That was an incredible race - thrilling right to the finish and full of drama. For Lewis, it was an awesome fightback to second after running dead last on lap one; and for Valtteri, we gave it everything to try and claim the win - and he arguably would have done so without the first Safety Car period, as he was closing fast on Sebastian at that point. First of all, we need to look at our own performance and what we can improve from today. We clearly have work to do on our starts, as we lost ground once again to Ferrari. But after yesterday's very close qualifying session, it was encouraging to see the underlying pace of the car - and that we had better tyre usage than our competitors. We made the right call to leave both cars out under the Safety Car: we had planned to do the opposite to Ferrari, as it was our best chance to win, so when they pitted we stayed out on track with both cars. We took the improved track position and knew it would be tough to hold on. Valtteri defended like a lion but just couldn't hold off Sebastian as the tyres were dropping away - and still did a great job to take P4. For Lewis, on fresher tyres, it got him back to P2 and maximum damage limitation. Overall, though, we are left with the feeling of "what might have been" after one of our cars was taken out for the second time in three races on lap one. In the past three weekends, we have lost points through our own mistakes and those of others - now we need to get our heads down, keep developing and put the performance to good use in the next 11 races. It's all to play for.
James Allison: This sport is at its very best when unpredictable and we saw that proven today with a thrilling spectacle for the aficionado and casual fan alike. However, as a Mercedes team member, it hurts a lot not to have Lewis on the top step of the podium where his blinding pace today should have put him. Leaving aside the misfortune of the first lap, it is intriguing to speculate how the final part of the race would have played out without the Safety Car. Valtteri was in very good shape on his tyres, and closing on Vettel, who we had seen was more challenged on tyre wear during the race. But it was not to be. Although we have endured a couple of difficult weekends, this has not been because the car was slow but for a host of other unconnected reasons. In the end, pace normally tells over the course of a season, and if we bring it to bear in the next 11 races, we will muscle our way back into a title race that is very much ours to win.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "This was a well deserved win, mainly down to a great job from the team at the track and back in Maranello and I congratulate them. Winning here is not easy as England is home to the Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Force India and Williams and others. That makes winning here all the more special. Sebastian drove a great race, fighting like a lion despite the pain in the neck he has suffered with since Saturday. Kimi also had a strong race proving once again what a fighter he is. The SF71H confirmed its strengths as it has done on other tracks already and the Pirelli tyres were a perfect match for our strategy. Tomorrow we will have our debrief and right from the afternoon we will start preparing for Sebastian's home race, the German GP."
Christian Horner: "A tough race today. Max initially got up to third place from the busy start with Daniel also moving up a place to run in fifth. Then after the safety car we felt that strategically we made the right call putting both drivers on the medium tyre to the end of the race, though as you could see both of our drivers were unfortunately powerless to attack or defend against our opponents today and we were extremely exposed on the straights. Frustratingly Max retired late in the race after a suspected brake-by-wire related issue. In the following laps to the end of the race Daniel was able to put some pressure on Bottas but, as we knew all weekend, our straight line speed was no match for Mercedes or Ferrari. Overall it was disappointing not to get both drivers to the finish but we'll be ready to fight back in two weeks at Hockenheim. It was an exciting race for the many British fans here today, and it's great to see a record crowd at Silverstone."
Sahara Force India scored seven points in today's British Grand Prix as Esteban Ocon raced to seventh place at Silverstone, while Sergio Perez ended up in P10.
Vijay Mallya: "To score seven points in our home race feels good. Esteban didn't put a wheel out of place today and showed excellent racecraft to hold off the cars behind which had a tyre advantage. Sergio dropped to last on lap one after spinning at the first corner, which proved costly. It's the fifth time this year that one of our cars has suffered a first lap incident and it's hurting us in the constructors' championship. Despite the spin, Checo battled back, pushed hard, and overtook a lot of cars. To score the final point was a remarkable recovery drive."
Lance Stroll finished 13th and Sergey Sirotkin 14th in the British Grand Prix. Both drivers started the race from the pitlane after the team broke parc ferme following Saturday's qualifying session in order to make changes to the cars.
Lance started on the Pirelli medium tyre with Sergey starting on the soft tyre. Both cars did well to avoid the Force India of Perez whilst exiting the pitlane, after the Mexican lost control of his car at the start. Sergey pitted on lap 21 for a set of medium tyres whilst Lance pitted 10 laps later for the Pirelli soft tyre. The Safety Car was deployed twice following several incidents throughout the race. Lance was able to get ahead of Sergey in the final stages to finish 13th with Sergey 14th after multiple retirements during the race.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: It was not a great situation to arrive at the British GP on race day with two cars starting from the pitlane. There are not many of us in the team that have started with one car in the pitlane, let alone two, so it was a new experience and involved some special logistics of its own, particularly to time the preparation of the launch. Both cars got away cleanly, emerging into the racing pack and settled down into a race which ran exactly according to the plan that we had set – Sergey on the shorter stint on the soft tyre, and Lance on a longer stint on the medium tyre. The plan was interrupted by the two safety cars but we chose to remain on plan so that the two cars could race each other according to their different strategies. During the second safety car, we gave Sergey the option to take another tyre set as he was complaining of tyre vibration but he chose to stay in the fight with Lance, however he ultimately lost the position in the restart. It was a good job by the team and the drivers to get two cars home, but once again, not in the positions that we would like.
Renault Sport Formula One Team made a welcome return to the points courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg's sixth place finish in a fast-paced and action-packed 2018 Formula 1 Rolex British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Under clear blue skies and blazing sun, Nico capitalised on an excellent start and strong opening lap – moving from his eleventh place grid slot into sixth, keeping cool and composed through a one-stop strategy with multiple safety cars to finish in that position at the chequered flag.
Carlos Sainz also made a superb start from sixteenth on the grid to ninth at the end of the first lap, running a two-stop strategy from which he ultimately retired after a collision at Copse on lap 38, while in the hunt for a top ten finish.
Today's action sees Renault Sport Formula One Team consolidate fourth position in the Constructors' Championship with a 19 point cushion over fifth.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "On a track we knew would be challenging for us we managed to outscore our direct competitors thanks to an excellent start, good strategy, well executed stops and an outstanding drive from Nico. It's a great reward, almost a relief after we were on the back foot following our difficult qualifying yesterday. It's too bad for Carlos, who probably had the right strategy called during the safety car to have an opportunity to gain a position. It was very clear that he was much more competitive than the car he was overtaking, but ultimately it was a race incident. With a good haul of points we can head to races where we hope to be more competitive, but the result should not distract us from looking at improving our pace on Saturday to give us an improved chance on Sunday."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "We came here quite optimistic for a good result but unfortunately Silverstone was not the race weekend we expected. We had a big accident in FP3 with Brendon's car due to the failure of the left front suspension. We assume the lower wishbone broke, but as we didn't know what caused this incident, we decided to keep Pierre in the garage which cut his session short. As a consequence, it was very difficult for Pierre in Qualifying. Nevertheless, he did a good job to qualify P14 with just a handful of laps under his belt. As for Brendon, we had to change the monocoque on his car after the crash, therefore he had to start the race from pit lane. During the warm-up laps, we recognised a problem on his car which we weren't able to fully identify, so we called him back to the garage to try and fix the issue. Unfortunately, we had to retire him on the first lap, but I must make a big compliment to the team because yesterday at 8.30 in the evening Brendon's car was ready with the engine fired up. They put a lot of effort into this job so it was a big shame to see Brendon unable to race today. Pierre made a good start and showed a very strong performance, he kept his race pace consistent against our competitors and was able to finish in 10th position to bring home a point. After all of the troubles we had, it was great to repay the team for the hard work they have done this weekend – they really deserved this point. Now we look forward to the next race in Germany, where we can hopefully improve further on our results."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director):"This has been a very tough weekend, particularly for the Honda and Toro Rosso mechanics who had to work so hard in the limited time available, especially on Saturday after Brendon's accident, changing his PU and chassis and on Pierre's car changing the suspension. So it was a great reward for them that Pierre drove a determined race, never giving up, taking tenth place and therefore a point with two laps to go. Unfortunately, on the reconnaissance lap prior to the race, we could see that something was not right on Hartley's car. We tried to fix it and still sent him out, but it was clear there was a problem and we had to retire him. The problem has now been traced to a loose connector on the PU side."
Haas F1 Team scored points for a third consecutive race as Kevin Magnussen finished ninth in the British Grand Prix Sunday at Silverstone Circuit. Teammate Romain Grosjean was unable to join Magnussen in the top-10, as he was forced to retire 37 laps into the 52-lap race around the 5.891-kilometer (3.66-mile), 18-turn track after contact with the Renault of Carlos Sainz Jr., sent both drivers off the track and out of the race.
Starting side-by-side in row four for the 10th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, Magnussen and Grosjean lost positions not long after the drop of the green flag as the result of a skirmish ahead of them in turn three between polesitter Lewis Hamilton and third-place qualifier Kimi Raikkonen. The two Haas F1 Team drivers actually made contact in their attempt to navigate through the chaos in front of them, which began when Raikkonen's Ferrari hit Hamilton's Mercedes. Race stewards reviewed the incident between the two Haas F1 Team drivers and determined no further action was warranted, while Raikkonen would later serve a 10-second penalty for avoidable contact with Hamilton, who spun off course.
Employing a one-stop strategy, Magnussen was 10th and Grosjean 13th after the chaos in turn three. Hamilton, who dropped to the rear of the field during the opening-lap dustup with Raikkonen, made short work of regaining his position among the leaders. He took 13th from Grosjean on lap four and 10th from Magnussen on lap six.
Teams that opted for a two-stop strategy began peeling into pit lane on lap 14. Fernando Alonso pitted his McLaren from 12th place on lap 13, allowing Grosjean to move up to the 13th position. As the field continued to cycle through pit stops, the Haas F1 Team pilots moved up to their original grid positions with Magnussen in seventh and Grosjean in eighth by lap 21. They finally stopped on consecutive laps to jettison the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires they both started the race with for a new set of White mediums that would carry each driver home to the finish. Magnussen pitted on lap 25, dropping from seventh to 11th, and Grosjean stopped on lap 26, falling from seventh to 15th.
Magnussen picked up one position to regain 10th while Grosjean was still in 15th when the safety car was deployed for a single-car accident involving Marcus Ericsson's Sauber on lap 32. Magnussen improved to ninth and Grosjean to 11th as teams employing a two-stop strategy made their way in and out of the pits.
The race went back to green on lap 38, whereupon Grosjean's day came to a premature end when Sainz squeezed him into the apex of the fast, right-hand turn nine at Copse. Both drivers spun into the gravel trap and were unable to continue.
On the lap-42 restart, Magnussen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso waged a spirited battle for ninth place, swapping the position multiple times with Magnussen finally winning the spot.
Magnussen moved up to eighth when the Red Bull of Max Verstappen slid off course and out of the race on lap 46. Magnussen did his best to hold off Alonso for eighth over the final five laps of the race before finally relinquishing the position on the final lap.
Ten rounds into the 21-race Formula One schedule, Haas F1 Team remains fifth in the constructors' standings with 51 points, 19 points behind fourth-place Renault with a three-point margin over sixth-place Force India and McLaren while holding a 31-point advantage over seventh-place Toro Rosso. Magnussen is ninth in the driver's championship with 39 points and Grosjean is 15th with 12 points.
Guenther Steiner: "We should go away from here happier and with more points. I think we lost quite a few points. We need to go away and evaluate what actually happened at turn one and avoid this for the future. This is obviously not acceptable because we keep on losing points while having a good car. I think we just need to go sit down and see what we can do to come away better, or at least where we should be. In the end, we're not going home empty handed. The guys can be proud of what they achieved. In the end, we have two points. Three points-scoring finishes in a row is pretty good, but I wouldn't say I'm ecstatic about it, as it should be a lot more."
A dramatic British Grand Prix in front of the team's home fans saw McLaren add a further three points to its tally. Both drivers narrowly avoided being collected up in any first-lap incidents, although Fernando suffered minor damage to his sidepod and floor after a knock.
Both drivers ran an aggressive strategy and fought hard, Fernando making his way through the pack to finish in P8 after the team took the opportunity to pit both drivers under the second Safety Car.
The team could only do limited work on Stoffel's car during parc ferme conditions after a difficult day yesterday. He drove a solid race despite poor balance and difficult handling to bring the car home in 12th position.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "It's good to head home after the British Grand Prix with more points. We decided to go for an aggressive strategy on both cars to put the drivers in the best position to fight.
"Fernando put in a great, gritty drive to come home in P8. After a difficult Saturday, Stoffel regained some pace during the race, however he was still dealing with a lot of the same issues, and investigations will continue. Regardless, the focus continues on stepping forward at every event.
"Ultimately, the last part of the race after the Safety Car was very close. Hopefully the fans enjoyed all the on-track action.
"Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the immense effort from the whole team during this tough triple-header. They've all put in many hours of hard work with little rest, and I hope everyone enjoys a well-deserved weekend off before we head to Germany."
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team tackled the 2018 FIA Formula One British Grand Prix confident of fighting for points. Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson were showing good pace and were gaining positions after having taken the start in P9 and P15 respectively. The race took a different turn when Charles pitted on lap 18 and had to stop his car due to an issue immediately after exiting the pit lane. On lap 32 it was Marcus' turn to retire as he lost the car in turn 1 with the DRS still open, hitting the barriers.
Despite the disappointment, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team heads into the next Grand Prix feeling positive, after having made very good progress race after race.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It was a tough race for us. We had a good start, with both of the drivers putting in a strong performance. Everything was going well, with Charles advancing to P7 and Marcus steadily catching up with the midfield. Unfortunately, things took a turn after Charles' pitstop. There was an issue and he had to retire from the race immediately after. Then, Marcus lost the car in turn 1. It is a tough outcome for us, but we have to stay positive. Despite the final result today, we have made another step forward since the last Grand Prix weekend, and are in shape to come back stronger for the next race at Hockenheim."
The British Grand Prix came down to a tense strategic battle between Ferrari and Mercedes, after two safety cars in the closing stages of the race turned it into a pair of final sprints.
Ferrari and Mercedes made different strategic choices under the first safety car, with Ferrari opting for a second stop to put their drivers onto soft tyres: the softest compound available.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes drivers stayed out on their medium tyres to maintain track position, making only one stop.
With extremely warm track temperatures close to 50 degrees centigrade, on one of the fastest and most demanding circuits of the year in terms of energy loadings, all the compounds demonstrated both performance and reliability at Pirelli's 350th grand prix.
Pirelli now remains at Silverstone for the latest two-day test in the 2019 tyre development programme, with Haas, Red Bull and Williams.
Mario Isola: "We saw a thrilling and unpredictable grand prix featuring a variety of different strategies and all three compounds being used. As well as the very different strategies based on soft and medium tyres that made up the first five places, Renault's Nico Hulkenberg made up six places by stopping once, from medium to hard. The race was obviously affected by safety cars that put many of the pre-planned strategies into question, but all the drivers were able to fight hard from start to finish on every compound at one of the season's most demanding circuits. This culminated in a thrilling finale that perfectly showcased the spectacular nature of Formula 1, at Pirelli's 350th grand prix."
